Sheet metal joint for panels and sheets

ABSTRACT

A sheet metal joint for wall and ceiling panels, roofing and sidewall sheets, etc. The joint may be between wall or ceiling panels and an attaching strip, or between adjoining roofing or sidewall sheets. One member has an open tubular flange at one side edge and there is a channel at the adjacent edge portion of the other member, the channel having a restricted throat into which the open tubular flange is snapped and locked. The wall and ceiling panels are formed of spaced metal sheets with a heat and cold insulation such as polyurethane therebetween.

United States Pat ent XXXX D 4 787 454 222 555 H 7 8 2 y k S w m d tw a13.1 U H Lyra-.0 V .llvl kWh m meC J m m M PWMR w D 8990 5666 9999 HMHHM m 3 l m a x 2667 E 4998 .1 W 00321 a 2237 m H 13 53 P. m a r m 0 n.im 0i 9 h 6 0. 1am R .1 n 0 Mw n m mnsw wa 1.34 \(SAJM f 0 dc m N em nl n u mmm -3 m AFPA Assistant Examiner-Wayne L Sheddl AnorneyFrease andBishop Canton, Ohio [54] SHEET METAL JOINT FOR PANELS AND SHEETSABSTRACT: A sheet metal joint for wall and ceiling panels, roofing andsidewall sheets, etc. The joint may be between wall or ceiling panelsand an attaching strip, or between adjoining roofing or sidewall sheets.

One member has an open tubular flange at one side edge and there is achannel at the adjacent edge portion of the other member, the channelhaving a restricted throat into which the open tubular flange is snappedand'locked.

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[5 6] References Cited UNITEDSTATESPATENTS 2/1958Richards...........l..........,

The wall and ceiling panels are formed of spaced metal eets with a heatand cold insulation such as therebetween.

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SHEET METAL JOINT FOR PANELS AND SHEETS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION lField ofthc Invention The invention relates to sheet metal oints forwall and ceil ing panels, roofing and sidewall sheets and the like.

2. Description ofthe Prior Art It is known that sheet metal joints havebeen made in which a flange or bead on the edge of one member fits intoa channel on the adjoining edge of the other member, but it is not knownthat such a joint has been proposed in which an open tubular flange onthe edge of one member snaps and locks into a channel with restrictedthroat on the edge of another member.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In general terms, the invention may bedescribed briefly as a sheet metal joint for metal wall and ceilingpanels or for roofing and sidewall sheets.

The wall and ceiling panels are each formed of two spaced metal sheetshaving a heat and cold insulation filler such as polyurethane foamtherebetween. Channels with restricted throats are formed near the sideedges of the panels. An attaching strip is provided with an open tubularflange formed at each side edge thereof for snapping into the channelsand locking the panels to the attaching strip.

The roofing and sidewall sheets may be directly connected to each otherwithout the interposition of an attaching strip. An open tubular flangeis formed along one edge of a sheet and adapted to be snapped into achannel with restricted throat formed on the adjacent edge of a similarsheet. In this form of the invention, the restricted throat is formed inthe channel by an inturned angular terminal flange, the edge of whichcontacts the open tubular flange.

It is, therefore, a primary object of the invention to provide a sheetmetal joint of the character referred to in which there is a channelwith restricted throat at the edge of one member and an open tubularflange at the adjacent edge of an adjoining member, adapted to besnapped into and locked in said channel.

Another object of the invention is to provide such a sheet metal jointin which the channels are in wall or ceiling panels and the open tubularflanges are formed upon an attaching strip.

A further object of the invention is to provide a sheet metal joint ofthis type in which the open tubular flange is formed at one edge of aroofing or sidewall sheet and the channel is formed at the opposite edgethereof.

The above objects together with others which will be apparent from thedrawings and following description, or which may be later referred to,may be attained by constructing the improved sheet metal joint forpanels and sheets, in the manner hereinafter described in detail andillustrated in the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. I is an exploded transversesectional view of a joint between two wall or ceiling panels includingattaching and connecting strips;

FIG. 2 is a transverse sectional view through such a joint taken as online 22 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary front elevation looking in the direction of thearrows 3-3, FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a section of a channel with restricted throat formed at oneedge of a roofing or sidewall sheet;

FIG. 5 is a section of an open tubular flange formed at the oppositeedge of a roofing or sidewall sheet;

FIG. 6 is a sectional view through ajoint formed of the open tubularflange of FIG. 5 inserted into the channel of FIG. 4;

FIG. 7 is a section, on a smaller scale, through adjoining portions oftwo roofing or sidewall sheets connected by the sheet metal joint towhich the invention pertains; and

FIG 8 IS a sectional view through ajoint which IS attached to a framingmember by means ofa clip DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTSReferring first to the embodiment of the invention shown in FIGS. l to3, inclusive, portions of two identical side wall or ceiling panels areindicated generally at 1. Each panel is formed of spaced parallel outerand inner metal sheets 2 and 3. respectively. A filler 4 of heat andcold insulation material such as polyurethane foam is located betweenthe metal sheets 2 and 3.

Opposite edges of the sheets 2 and 3 are bent toward each other at rightangles as indicated at 5 and 6, respectively, to protect the corners ofthe polyurethane foam filler. Near opposite edges of each panel themetal sheet 2 is formed into a channel 7 with restricted throat 8. Eachsuch channel may include a straight side wall 9, a bottom wall 10 and acurved side wall 11.

Each metal sheet 3 is also formed into similar channels 7a, preferablyat points further spaced from the side edges of the panel than thechannels 7. Each channel 7a is of the same form as the channels 7 andhas a restricted throat 811.

An attaching strip 12 is provided for connecting the outer sides ofadjoining panels 1 together and to a frame member such as indicated at13 in FIGS. 2 and 3. While the frame member is shown as a metalstructural member and the attaching strip is shown as welded thereto at14, it should be understood that the attaching strip 12 may be fastenedto wooden studs or the like by means of nails or screws.

Each side edge of the attaching strip 12 is bent at a right angle, asshown at 15, and terminates in an open tubular flange 16, the terminaledge portion of which is inclined generally in the direction of theright angle bend 15 as indicated at 17.

After the attaching strip 12 has been connected to the framing member13, the abutting edge portions of two panels 1 are connected thereto, asshown in FIG. 2. As seen in this figure the open tubular flanges 16 ofthe attaching strip are received in the channels 7 of the two panels 1.The tubular flanges 16 have passed through the restricted throats 8 ofthe channels 7 and snapped into place therein locking the two panels 1to the attaching strip 12.

As shown in FIG. 2 the attaching strip 12 is spaced outward from theadjoining edge portions of the panels 1 providing room for the heads ofnails or screws if the attaching strip is attached to a wooden stud orthe like.

In order to hold the inner side edges of the panels 1 tightly togetherand provide a finished appearance for the joint, the inner connectingstrip 18 is provided. The connecting strip 18 is of the sameconstruction exactly as the attaching strip 12 except it is wider tocompensate for the distance between the channels 7a, and has at eachside edge an open tubular flange l9 exactly like the open tubular flange16 above described.

When the open tubular flanges 19 of the inner connecting strip 18 aresnapped into place as shown in FIG. 2, it will be seen that the surfaceof the strip 18 is in the same plane as the surfaces of the inner sheets3 of the panels 2. This is because the inner surfaces 2b of the panels2, between the channels 70 and the abutting edges of the panels, areinset the thickness of the connecting strip 18. As shown in FIGS. 2 and3 the inner connecting strip 18 covers both of the channels 7a leavingonly two tightly closed longitudinal joints 21 between opposite sideedges of the connecting strip 18 and the straight sidewalls of thechannels 7a.

In FIGS. 4 to 8, inclusive, is shown an embodiment of the invention asapplied to sheet metal roofing or sidewall sheets. For this purpose oneedge portion of a sheet 22 has a channel 23 formed thereon by bendingthis portion of the sheet to form the sidewalls 24 and 25 and the bottomwall 26. The channel 23 has a restricted throat 27 formed by bending theterminal portion of the sidewall 25 toward the sidewall 24 as shown at28 and then downwardly at an angle as indicated at 29.

As shown in FIG. 5, the outer edge portion of the sheet 22 is bent at anangle, which may be a right angle as indicated at 30, and formed into anopen tubular flange 33 terminating in the inclined portion 32.

To attach sheets 22 together the open tubular flange 31 at the edge ofone sheet is inserted into the channel 23 at the edge of an adjoiningsheet as shown in FIG. 6, the springlike open tubular flange 3H passingthrough the restricted throat 27 of the channel 23 and snapping intoplace as shown in FIG. 6, the inclined terminal portion 32 of thetubular flange 31 being located against the edge oi the inclined flange29 in the channel.

As shown in FIG. 7, the sheets 22 may be provided with spaced ribs 33.The bottom wall 26 of the channel 23 may be welded to a frame member 3 3as indicated at 35 and the bottom walls 36 of certain of the ribs 33 maybe welded to frame members 34 as shown at 36a. if the sheets 22 are tobe attacbed to wooden studs or the like, the bottom walls 26 and 36 maybe attached to the support members by nails or screws.

in H0. 8 is shown a clip for attaching the joint between sheets 22 to aframe member. For the purpose of illustration, the frame member is shownas a wooden stud 37 to which the clip indicated generally at 38 isattached by a screw or nail 39. The clip is formed of sheet metal andcomprises the attaching flange 40 in contact with the frame member 37,at the inner end of the clip, and the oppositely bent portion 41 at itsother end, which extends over the portion 28 of the channel. The clip isthen bent at an angle at 42 fitting over the terminal flange 29 in thechannel, and then formed into the curved portion 43 to receive the opentubular flange 31, and terminates in the straight flange 44 which islocated between the sidewall 24 of the channel and the portion 30 of theopen tubular flange.

It will be understood that in cases where the clip is used to attachsheet joints to metal support members, the attaching flange 40 of theclip would be welded to the metal support member.

The panels ll may be made into acoustical panels by forming apertures 45in the metal sheets 3 and the insulation material 4, as shown in FIGS. 2and 3.

I claim:

1. A sheet metal joint for wall and ceiling panels, roofing and sidewall sheets comprising two members, a channel adjaccnt one side edge ofone member, said channel having a straight sidewall and a convexsidewall forming a restricted throat, and a springy open tubular flangeat one side edge of the other member, said open tubular flange at oneside edge of the other member, said open tubular flange at its widestpoint being larger than the restricted throat of the channel wherebysaid open tubular flange may be snapped into said channel to lock thetwo members together.

2. A sheet metal joint as defined in claim 1 in which the open tubularflange is of generally oval shape.

3. A sheet metal joint as defined in claim 1 in which the channel isformed in a panel and the springy open tubular flange is formed on anattaching strip.

4. A sheet metal joint as defined in claim 3 in which the attachingstrip has springy open tubular flanges at opposite side edges forsnapping into channels in adjacent edge portions of two similar panels.

5. A sheet metal joint for wall and ceiling panels, roofing and sidewallsheets comprising two sheet metal members, a channel adjacent one sideedge of one member, said channel being formed by bending said side edgeportion of the sheet to form a first sidewall, a bottom wall and asecond sidewall, and then bending the terminal portion of the secondsidewall toward the first sidewall and then at an angle toward thebottom wall terminating in an angular terminal flange at a point spacedfrom the bottom wall and the first sidewall forming a restricted throatin said channel, and a springy open tubular flange at one side edge ofthe other member, said open tubular flange at its widest point beinglarger than the restricted throat of the channel, whereby said opentubular flange may be sngpped into said channel to lock the two membersto ether.

A sheet metal joint as defined in claim 5 in w ich the edge of saidterminal flange contacts the open tubular flange.

7. A sheet metal joint as defined in claim 5 in which the sidewalls ofsaid channel are parallel.

8. A sheet metal joint as defined in claim 5 in which the sidewalls ofsaid channel converge toward said bottom wall.

9. A sheet metal joint as defined in claim 5 including an attaching cliphaving means for connecting it to a support member and a curved flangeon the attaching clip located within the channel and receiving the opentubular flange on the other member.

1. A sheet metal joint for wall and ceiling panels, roofing and sidewall sheets comprising two members, a channel adjacent one side edge ofone member, said channel having a straight sidewall and a convexsidewall forming a restricted throat, and a springy open tubular flangeat one side edge of the other member, said open tubular flange at oneside edge of the other member, said open tubular flange at its widestpoint being larger than the restricted throat of the channel wherebysaid open tubular flange may be snapped into said channel to lock thetwo members together.
 2. A sheet metal joint as defined in claim 1 inwhich the open tubular flange is of generally oval shape.
 3. A sheetmetal joint as defined in claim 1 in which the channel is formed in apanel and the spriNgy open tubular flange is formed on an attachingstrip.
 4. A sheet metal joint as defined in claim 3 in which theattaching strip has springy open tubular flanges at opposite side edgesfor snapping into channels in adjacent edge portions of two similarpanels.
 5. A sheet metal joint for wall and ceiling panels, roofing andsidewall sheets comprising two sheet metal members, a channel adjacentone side edge of one member, said channel being formed by bending saidside edge portion of the sheet to form a first sidewall, a bottom walland a second sidewall, and then bending the terminal portion of thesecond sidewall toward the first sidewall and then at an angle towardthe bottom wall terminating in an angular terminal flange at a pointspaced from the bottom wall and the first sidewall forming a restrictedthroat in said channel, and a springy open tubular flange at one sideedge of the other member, said open tubular flange at its widest pointbeing larger than the restricted throat of the channel, whereby saidopen tubular flange may be snapped into said channel to lock the twomembers together.
 6. A sheet metal joint as defined in claim 5 in whichthe edge of said terminal flange contacts the open tubular flange.
 7. Asheet metal joint as defined in claim 5 in which the sidewalls of saidchannel are parallel.
 8. A sheet metal joint as defined in claim 5 inwhich the sidewalls of said channel converge toward said bottom wall. 9.A sheet metal joint as defined in claim 5 including an attaching cliphaving means for connecting it to a support member and a curved flangeon the attaching clip located within the channel and receiving the opentubular flange on the other member.